Metal Roundup Week of 12/22
It’s our last Metal Roundup of the 2023, where we listen to all of the underground metal that comes out every week and pick my favorite records. Even with all of the holiday excitement there were some killer releases this week.
Beneath the Mountain's Vigil by Yfel
First up, Appalachian-inspired metal continues to dominate this year with Beneath the Mountain's Vigil by Yfel. Out now on Fiadh records, which puts out a lot of excellent releases in this vein, Beneath the Mountain’s Vigil is a triumphant melodic black metal album centered around the environmental and individual suffering caused by the coal mining industry. “The Battle of Blair Mountain” is a must-listen track off this release.
Deliberate Defiance by Tomb Dweller
Up next, the new EP Deliberate Defiance by Tomb Dweller is the kind of trashy death metal that never gets old. With a ferocious energy, any fan of violent and extreme music will gladly take a sonic pummeling from this record. An impressive debut, I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on this group in 2024.
Pestilence Crowned by Grave Gnosis
And finally, Grave Gnosis melted my face with their psychedelic black metal release Pestilence Crowned. This is a bad trip condensed into one album, is heavy on the occult themes and even heavier on the chaos. Dark ritualistic atmospheres explode into pandemonium, razor sharp riffs joined by shamanistic drumming and disorienting electronic flourishes that make this record stand out from the rest.
And that’s it! We covered a lot of other excellent metal releases this year, like Hive Mind Narcosis by Thantifaxath which made #5 on our Album of the Year list, Panopticon which made #14, along with many more.
